Written By Michael Dibari
In the context of the currently superheated real estate market, whole subdivisions of what have been called “McMansions” are springing up. By contrast, a few large homes embody the best of their genre. Here are four outstanding examples of Carroll County houses that project style and pride of individual ownership. Each one represents a clear approach to life, and each, in its unique way, expresses the hopes and aspirations of its builders and inhabitants.
1. Ron and Debbie Schmidt bought this 3,800 square-foot Pennsylvania-style Victorian farmhouse in Westminster in September of 2004. Built entirely of brick in 1847 by the Cunningham family, which named it “Prospect Hill,” and later owned by a mayor of Westminster, it was the first house on West Green Street. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.
2. Builder Robin Ford’s expansive house in Beaver Creek Estates, constructed for a Carroll County physician in 2002, is representative of a trend in contemporary, upscale homes.
3. “The Scott House,” built by Robert and Phyllis Scott in 1954 near Uniontown, is on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by architect Henry Hebblen of New York in the International Style (an expression of the Bauhaus school), it was acquired by Frank Baylor and Jennie Teeter, its current residents, in 1999.
4. An eclectic expansion of an A-frame, Allen Brown’s Mount Airy home was designed and built by its owner, starting in 1964. Locally, it is known as “the castle,” because of a turretlike addition (there have been a dozen add-ons in various styles) that brought the house’s area up to 8,000 square feet.
